Graduate Resources

RULES AND REQUIREMENTS

Graduate Division requirements, policies, and forms can be viewed at http://grad.berkeley.edu/.

IMPORTANT PEOPLE FOR GRADUATE MATTERS 

The department has numerous individuals you can connect with if you need help or support. Some important individuals are:

    • Graduate Student Services Advisor - Ariana Castro - your primary resource on all things graduate matters
    • Department Administration
      • Overall Department Matters - Chair - Prof. Lane Martin
      • Overall Graduate Matters - Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Chair of the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee - Prof. Junqiao Wu
      • Overall Department Administrative Matters - Department Manager - Catalina Estrada
    • Faculty Advisor for Graduate Student Instructor Affairs - Prof. Phil Messersmith - The primary liaison between the Graduate Division and Department faculty and GSIs in all matters pertaining to GSIs
    • Department Equity Advisors - Profs. Mary Scott and Jie Yao - An additional resource for questions related to equity in the department.
  • Student Relations Committee - Profs. Ting Xu, Oscar Dubon, Kristin Persson, and Xiayou Zheng - This committee is tasked with maintaining strong relationships with our current students and serving as advocates for student matters or issues.

 

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

University Health Services offers a number of resources to help you get well and stay healthy, including healthy eating tips, drug and alcohol counseling, violence prevention, sexual health counseling and  and general health coaching.

The Disabled Students’ Program (DSP) is committed to ensuring that all students with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunities at UC Berkeley. They offer a wide range of services for students with disabilities. These services are individually designed, and based on the specific needs of each student as identified by their Disability Specialists.

Are you stressed out?
The Tang Center offers many resources, including free counseling for students, faculty and staff, and help dealing with your stress through UC Berkeley’s Be Well To Do Well program.

Additional Resources:

Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Peer Support Providers (PSPs)
Recreational Sports
Cal Adventures

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Graduate Fellowships and Awards: https://grad.berkeley.edu/financial/fellowships/

Graduate Assembly: https://ga.berkeley.edu

The mission of the Graduate Assembly is to improve the lives of University of California, Berkeley graduate students and to foster a vibrant, inclusive graduate student community.

MSE Graduate Student Council: http://msegsc.berkeley.edu/

The official graduate student organization for MSE

Engineering Research Support Organization (ERSO): http://www.erso.berkeley.edu

GSR and GSI hiring, reimbursements.

Division of Equity and Inclusion: http://diversity.berkeley.edu

The Division of Equity and Inclusion provides leadership and accountability to resolve systemic inequities for all members of UC Berkeley through engaged research, teaching, and public service, and by expanding pathways for access and success and promoting a healthy and engaging campus climate

Support for Student Parents: http://grad.berkeley.edu/financial/families/

Resources for students parents including grants; child birth accomidation policies; child care reimbursements

Student’s Ombuds Office: http://sa.berkeley.edu/ombuds

Want to discuss a confidential issue, or get impartial advice on a complex situation? The Student’s Ombuds Office is available to talk to students and help them resolve problems.

Survivor Support: http://survivorsupport.berkeley.edu

UC Berkeley is dedicated to preventing and addressing sexual harassment and sexual violence on campus. We believe in fostering a culture that prioritizes consent and respect, and responds to and supports survivors and their allies.

Information for New MSE Graduate Students

  1. Check out Graduate Student Handbook.
  2. Get a Desk: a student committee governs seating in the Graduate Student Bay.  The Graduate Student Bay is located in rooms 330 and 450 HMMB.  Once you have selected a graduate research supervisor, please see your group representative for available seating at the Student Bay.
  3. Get Building and Lab Access:  Keys to all MSE laboratories in HMMB and the HMMB building require authorization by both the research supervisor, and the group safety committee representative. Card keys are built into the student photo ID cards. Metal keys require a deposit (cash only). Keys and card key permissions can be obtained from hmmb-facilities@berkeley.edu during office hours.
  4. Know where to Make Xerox copies:  There is a copy machine located in the Department Office, 210E HMMB, that can be used for making copies in connection with the student’s research work. You must have the permission of your research supervisor to use their copier code to make copies.
  5. Know Where Your Mail Will be Delivered: All MSE graduate students have mailbox space in the Department Office, 210 HMMB, for graduate work related purposes.  Be sure to stop by the office periodically, to check for mail. Please note that it is not possible to provide individual mailboxes for students, so mail for several students are in the same mailbox (alphabetically by first letter of last name). Please be advised that University regulations prohibit the use of the University’s address for personal mail. Any personal mail, including bank statements, drivers’ licenses, etc. sent to the university address will be returned to the sender.
  6. Keep the Graduate Advisor in the Main MSE Office informed: When you select your research supervisor, or have any changes to your address, phone or email, please be sure to let them know, so they can update the database.

Graduate Student Instructors/Readers

Interested candidates must complete the Online Application (CalNet ID required). 

If you are currently appointed as a GSR, you must receive prior approval from your Faculty Research Advisor to apply for a GSI position.

General Information:

GSI appointments of at least 25% time include partial fee remissions. Appointments do not include offsets for any non-resident tuition. For more information see the Fee Remission Program Bulletin.

For general information on Berkeley campus GSI guidelines, resources, and support visit the Graduate Division’s GSI Teaching and Resource Center. You are responsible for following all requirements of the Graduate Division and Department relating to GSI appointments.

You are required to attend all lectures and lab/discussion sections for your assigned course, hold office hours as required and be present through the grading of final exams.

MSE Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Policy:

The MSE Department plans ahead when scheduling classes and assigning GSIs to courses. By accepting a GSI position in the MSE Department, you make a good faith commitment to serve for the term for which you have accepted an appointment offer. It is department policy that MSE students notify the department of any plans to accept other means of financial support.

Requirements:

Applicants must meet all Graduate Division requirements for the GSI appointment including being a registered graduate student with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and no more than two incompletes. In addition:

  1. All GSIs teaching for the first time on the Berkeley campus must attend the First-Time Teaching & Resource Center Conference. This conference is held at the beginning of each semester.
  2. Every first-time GSI must successfully complete the online course Professional Standards and Ethics for GSIs before they interact with students (in person or online) in their role as an instructor. GSIs can enroll in the course by going to the GSI Teaching and Resource Centers website.
  3. Every first-time GSI must either have completed or be enrolled in a 300-level semester-long pedagogy seminar on teaching in the discipline offered by the GSI’s department. In Bioengineering, this course is Bioeng 301 and is offered in the Fall semester only. First-time GSIs who fail to pass the 300-level course must retake and pass the course before they are eligible to teach again.
  4. All first time GSIs must attend the New Academic Student Employee Orientation, which will include a 30-minute orientation by the university and a 30-minute presentation by UAW Local 2865. Go to HR Web for the dates, times and locations for the New ASE Orientations.
  5. Oral English Proficiency: Students who do not speak English as a native language and do not hold a Bachelor’s degree from an institution in the United States must demonstrate oral English proficiency to be appointed as a GSI, see https://gsi.berkeley.edu/lpp/index.html for more information.

For additional details on requirements see Appointments Handbook.

Teaching Resources:

GSI Teaching and Resource Center

Fee Remission Information

Time management strategies for GSIs

Bcourses

Educational Technology Services

External Funding Opportunities

We encourage applicants to apply for fellowships from sources other than UC Berkeley. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are particularly encouraged to apply for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) and the Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering (DOD NDSEG) fellowships. Information and forms can also be found at university career offices. In addition, some corporations award fellowships to their employees. Many governments also award fellowships for overseas study.

In addition, U.S. citizens are encouraged to apply for the many external fellowships for which they are eligible:

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)

Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (DOD NDSEG)

Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowships (DOE CSGF)

Department of Energy Nuclear Energy University Program (DOE NEUP) 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Graduate Fellowships

Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowships

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) Graduate Fellowship Program

Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship

NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO)

For Women and Minorities:
Graduate Fellowships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Diversity (GFSD)

For Women:
American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation

For Minorities:
GEM Fellowship Program

Ford Predoctoral Fellowships for Minorities

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans Fellowship

For Canadians:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS)

Outstanding international applicants will be considered for the prestigious Berkeley Fellowship and for International House Fellowships.

Job Listings

The University Materials Council has a well kept Careers page - https://www.umatcon.org/files/careers.shtml - This offers a one-stop list of all the job listings from MSE departments.

Contact Us

Department offices are located in 210 Hearst Memorial Mining Building, in the Northeast corner of campus.

Address:

Department of Materials Science and Engineering
210 Hearst Memorial Mining Building
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1760

Phone: (510) 642-3801
Fax: (510) 643-5792

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